A Room Away From the Wolves

Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable.Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history, a vow of confidentiality, and dark, magical secrets. There, Bina is drawn to her enigmatic downstairs neighbor Monet, a girl who is equal parts intriguing and dangerous. As Bina’s lease begins to run out, and nightmare and memory get tangled, she will be forced to face the terrible truth of why she’s come to Catherine House and what it will take for her to leave...

10 Reasons You Should Read Nova Ren Suma's Books

I'm a big fan of Nova Ren Suma!! This summer I fulfilled my dream of meeting her. One more important fave author crossed off my bucket list!!

After reading 2 of her books (and working my way through this one), I've compiled my list of why she should be an auto-buy:

1. Beautiful Writing

THE WALLS AROUND US and A ROOM AWAY FROM THE WOLVES are so painfully beautiful that it made me stop multiple times and just ENVY the way Nova writes these words.

2. Twisty Twists

I never freaking know WHAT is going on in these books. If you are able to guess these endings, my hat is off to you. Maybe it's the touch of magic that they all seem to have, or maybe Nova just has really unexpected ideas-- either way, I'm always surprised.

3. Nothing is Spelled Out

You may not see this as a good thing, but I do!! I really like it when books leave things to the reader's imagination and doesn't tell us EVERY last thing that happened. There are always multiple interpretations to what people think ACTUALLY happened.

4. Dark Contemporary For the Win!!

My fave of all faves are dark Contemporaries. I like it when things are MESSED UP in books. I mean sunshine and rainbows are needed every now and again, but I like it when the stakes are high and the characters have real issues.

5. Settings

In IMAGINARY GIRLS we have Olive-- a town underwater that may or may not have ghosts living in it. In THE WALLS AROUND US-- Aurora Hills, a juvenile detention center where strange things happened. In A ROOM AWAY FROM THE WOLVES-- Catherine House, a boarding house in NYC with a tragic history.

6. Characters

FYI: I do not always like these characters. Ruby from IMAGINARY GIRLS was practically rage inducing. Bina from ARAFTW is also tough sometimes. The thing is, I like when I'm frustrated sometimes. I like the conflicting feel of wanting a good resolution, but also not loving the person that I'm rooting (or not rooting) for. All the characters are complicated and mysterious, and I LOVE IT. Plus, unreliable narrators are never a bad thing for me.

7. She's friends with Courtney Summers

You guys probably know that I'm a Courtney Summers superfan by now. Also, I am her #1 fan-- she wrote it in my book :) But anyway, these 2 are besties and always cheerleading each other, and I couldn't think of a better BFF match!

8. Underrated as All Hell

Don't you love when you read an awesome book that isn't super hyped?? It makes me feel like I'm in on some kind of super special secret.

9. Total Uniqueness

You will not read these books and say "Hmmm, this really reminds me of ____ author". Nova's books are like nothing else.

10. Always a Touch of Supernatural Elements

This might not always be your (or my) jam for every book-- but knowing that there will always be that ghosty or otherworldly factor in these books makes them so much more mysterious and interesting.

Stay tuned for a review of this book later in the week on my blog!!

Nova Ren Suma is the author of the YA novels THE WALLS AROUND US as well as the YA novels IMAGINARY GIRLS and 17 & GONE, which were both named 2014 Outstanding Books for the College Bound by YALSA. Her middle-grade novel, DANI NOIR, was reissued for a YA audience under the title FADE OUT. She has a BA in writing & photography from Antioch College and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University and has been awarded fiction fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Millay Colony, and an NEA fellowship for a residency at the Hambidge Center. She worked for years behind the scenes in publishing, at places such as HarperCollins, Penguin, Marvel Comics, and RAW Books, and now she teaches writing workshops. She is from various small towns across the Hudson Valley and lives and writes in New York City.Find Nova online at novaren.com and on her blog distraction99.com.

3 comments:

This book sounds emotional, painful, and important to read. I love the colors of the cover and have this beautiful book on my TBR. Meeting authors is so fun for me too (though I do believe I lose all capacity to form coherent sentences).

I have read The Walls Around Us by this author, it was my first and only book so far by her, but I absolutely loved it, especially the writing style, it was so compelling and the twist at the end, so unpredictable and amazing. I'm so in love with that book's cover and it sounds just as mysterious and great, I can't wait to read it at some point :DLovely post! :D